A family with small children, such as babies or toddlers, who go to a restaurant or other such facility for dining often utilize a standard restaurant high chair or child seat. Typically, the standard restaurant high chair or child seat is made from wood, plastic or other such material and only includes a place for the child to sit. The high chair provides restraints, such as a belt, to be placed around the waist of the child placed therein. The child is strapped in the high chair, and the high chair is typically positioned in proximity to the table so that the child utilizes a table surface for eating or performing other activities, such as playing with a toy, coloring, etc.
Typically, small children tend to throw or drop food, toys, or other such objects on the floor or ground while sitting at the table in a restaurant. The dropping of toys or food can disrupt a table conversation, creates noise and distraction, requires the parent or care giver to repeatedly pick the dropped toys off the floor causing frustration to both child and parent and also precludes re-use of the toy or food because of contact with the floor.
In addition, high chairs are normally not very clean having been dirtied by other children when dining at a restaurant. Typically, a child places their hands or mouth on the high chair surfaces, thus placing the child in contact with bacteria and other various disease-causing germs that may lead to illness.
To this end, although child seat covers of the existing art are operable, further improvements are desirable to enhance the use of a child seat apparatus which functions to prevent food, toys and other objects from falling to the floor, prevent child contact with the high chair and table surfaces, and extend the reachable playing surface for the child. It is to such a child seat apparatus that at least one embodiment of the present invention is directed.